He is only 18, but Nathan MacKinnon already has a big-game playoff reputation, something his coach knows well.

Two years ago, Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts had a 3-0 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League series lead over MacKinnon's Halifax Mooseheads, at which point MacKinnon took over in Halifax's seven-game victory. Last year about this time, MacKinnon dominated the Memorial Cup playoffs in leading Halifax to a championship against Seth Jones and the Portland (Ore.) Winterhawks. In MacKinnon's two years with Halifax, he posted 24 goals and 61 points in 34 playoff games.

"I've only been in playoffs in junior, but obviously it was pretty successful," MacKinnon said Tuesday. "The NHL is totally different, and I can't try to relate to it right now, but I'm looking forward to the new experience for sure."

It's playoff time again for MacKinnon, this time as a top-two center with the Avalanche, which will play its first postseason game since 2010 on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild. With Matt Duchene out with a knee injury, MacKinnon will center a line with Ryan O'Reilly and P.A. Parenteau in Game 1, and the Avs will hope his playoff experience at other levels translates well.

"It's exciting, because all of us are kind of in this together new," MacKinnon said. "We're a very young team, but at the same time, we have some vets who have won some Cups, so we have a nice mix here. I'm very comfortable playing center. It's my natural position and, the three of us, I think we're going to do a good job. We like to move the puck in small areas of the ice. We like to have little give-and-go plays, little 6-foot passes. That's what we're going to have to do to be at our best in this series, for our line to be successful."

Advertisement

There is no reason to think MacKinnon won't be able to handle the added responsibility. He's the leading candidate to win the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, with 24 goals and 63 points in 82 games, at plus-20. Still, with Duchene out and third-line center John Mitchell questionable to play at the start of the series with a concussion, MacKinnon is certain to face heightened checking pressure from a good Wild defense.

"Obviously, with Dutchy out, it puts a lot more pressure on everybody else," MacKinnon said. "But we have tons of good forwards. It's not just going to be me that they're going to be paying attention to. I think it's good that, if they key on one guy, we'll have other guys step up. They're going to have to kind of choose who they want to pick their battles with."

MacKinnon probably would have stayed at right wing for the playoffs if not for Mitchell's injury. Roy tried playing O'Reilly at center against San Jose on Friday but elected to move him back to left wing in favor of MacKinnon. Marc-Andre Cliche and Brad Malone appear to be the third- and fourth-line centers in Game 1, unless Mitchell makes a fast recovery in the next day.

"It's something we're going to start with. Is it going to stay that way? I'm not sure," Roy said. "It brings some speed in the middle, which I like. I think it's good to have that option."

MacKinnon became only one of nine players in NHL history to record at least 20 goals and 60 points at age 18. What kind of series does he expect with the Wild, known for a tight-checking system?

"In the playoffs, all we want to do is win the game 1-0. We don't really care if we score a lot of goals. That's pretty irrelevant this time of year," he said.